The Department of Transportation is nearing a decision on a major oil export terminal planned for the Gulf of Mexico — and EPA isn’t standing in the way.
In a letter to the head of DOT’s Maritime Administration last week, EPA Region 6 Administrator Earthea Nance said the agency “does not object to the issuance of a license” for the Texas GulfLink deepwater port project.
Texas GulfLink — a subsidiary of Texas-based Sentinel Midstream — is developing the oil export terminal, which would be located about 30 miles offshore from Freeport, Texas. The deepwater port would be connected to the shore via a proposed 42-inch pipeline. It is staunchly opposed by environmental groups, who argue the project comes with a big emissions footprint.
But a final environmental review of the project, released in July by the U.S. Coast Guard, said the majority of the project’s “significant” emissions “likely already occur as part of the United States crude oil supply chain.” The terminal is being closely watched after progressive lawmakers called for a freeze on new oil export project licensing decisions — a push that environmental groups have also made.
